In oil and gas operations, sand is often present within fluid streams removed from a wellbore. For example, sand may be used as a proppant in fracturing operations, and as a result, may be present in the resulting flow-back production fluid. Further, increasing amounts of sand may be produced as oil and gas field production matures. As the presence of sand within well fluids may damage or erode surface equipment, vessels of various configuration have been developed to assist in the removal of sand from fluids produced from a wellbore. Such vessels are typically known as desanders, or sand separators.
In a vertical sand trap, gravity is leveraged to effect settling of sand from the fluid flow. That is, a fluid stream enters a vertically oriented vessel, and sand accumulates in the bottom of the vessel for later removal.
In a hydrocyclone desander, one or more hydrocyclones are attached to a feed manifold. Inflow fluid to be desanded passes through the manifold and to the hydrocyclones, which discharge particulates from the bottom thereof, while overflow fluid from the hydrocyclone may be collected and further processed in subsequent steps.